Amazing Spider-Man #9 Recap

Spider-Verse is officially in motion, and as the flagship series featuring everyone’s favorite, one and only Peter Parker-616, Amazing Spider-Man #9 kicks off Spider-Verse Part One: The Gathering. As the comic to kick off the event, along with a slight price premium, this issue is slightly longer than others.

The issue opens with a sleeping Peter Parker, the location shown as Peter Parker’s Pad. The telephone rings and as Peter answers we see J. Jonah Jameson yelling “Parrrrrrker!” He demands that Peter gets to a location named Armstrong Park, a place being torn up by an unnamed super-powered punk. As if we were reading a Spider-Man issue of old, we see Peter swinging through a dark city skyline, monologuing to himself about working at the Daily Bugle while paying bills and student loans. As he lands, we find out that the person causing trouble is none other than Morlun, who triggers Peter’s spider sense like never before. The favored Inheritor explains that he’s done what he’s about to do a thousand times on a thousand Earth’s, and Peter curiously says that they’re not on Earth. In the next panels we see Morlun mount Spidey and snap his neck, and the intro ends with a very nice vertical panel of Morlun feeding on his prey, the backdrop containing a statue of an astronaut (with the engraving “Armstrong Park New Lunar York Park’s Department”) and a distant Earth floating in the background. R.I.P  Spider Moon-Man of Earth-449.

We cut to the Loomworld of Earth-001 where we see the Master Weaver chained up and both Daemos and Verna facing him. Daemos demands that the weaver opens up a world so he can feast, but Verna tells him to be patient, and that soon Morlun will return. The two talk about Morlun being their father’s favorite, and Morlun soon walks through a portal spun by the weaver. After a brief back and forth Verna demands her servants brings out her hounds. We see versions of Sable, Fireheart and Kravinoff muzzled and bound like dogs. The Master Weaver opens up a doorway and Verna enters, hounds in tow. Daemos and Morlun have an exchange about an Earth Daemos claims Morlun is avoiding, though Morlun claims he is saving it for last. As he leaves, Daemos asks the Master Weaver to open a doorway to Earth-616 to let the insatiable inheritor find out why it’s so special.

In a bout of parallelism, we then see Peter Parker of Earth-616 sleeping in his bed. He awakes to an upside down Silk hanging over his bed. While he gets dressed, Silk brings up their “animal urges” and suggests that Peter leaves New York as a solution. To escape their pheromones and get some fresh air, Pete suits up and they take to the skies. Silk explains that something about Peter is keyed to her spider-sense, like threads of a great web drawing her towards him.

We then see the pair swing above a group of former Superior Spider-Men soldiers exploiting their recent symbolism as good guys, and robbing a bank with the help of a Spider Tank and their Metal-headed ringleader. Readers are then treated to a deluge of Spider-Men and Spider-Women in the next wave of panels.

Spider-Man and Silk dispatch the tank and the ringleader, and as Peter turns to catch some stragglers he turns to see Spider-Woman and her protege Spider-Girl (Anya Corazon) perched on a nearby rooftop and webbing up a bad guy. In the next panel Spider-Man 2099 swings over Pete, saying they need to talk while chasing some more stragglers. With five Spiders around, one of the soldiers makes a break for it, only to run into Spider-UK of Earth-833; May Day of Earth-982 swings by, and Spider-Ham of Earth-94 promptly knocks out the soldier with a swift punch, much to Peter-616’s (who I’ll now refer to as Spider-Man and Peter -no numbers) surprise.

Spider-Man is confused at seeing all the different versions of himself, and Spider-UK explains that they’ve all been drawn to him as the strands of the great web are converging on him; however, it takes May Day – who’s Peter met before – to convince him that the situation is real and not a ploy of Mysterio. Spider-UK explains that they’re drawn to Peter because he’s faced an inheritor before: Morlun. We see Peter quickly change tune upon the idea of Morlun and his bigger brother coming to their location, and urgently usher the Spiders through a portal that UK opened.

The next page leads us to Mount Wungadore in Eastern Europe, the home of Kaine the Scarlet Spider, and his current team the New Warriors. We see a chilling scene; Daemos looming over an injured Kaine, with fellow New Warriors including Nova knocked out nearby. Kaine fights back, stabbing Daemos with spikes extending out of his arms, and we see Daemos refer to Kaine as “the other” upon feeling pain. He begins to feed on Kaine’s essence, when a familiar flash appears and Old Man Spider-Man appears, with Bruce Banner, the Spider-Man of Earth-70105, Spider-Gwen, and Ben Reilly. Kaine is convinced that Spider-Gwen is another Jackal experiment, until Ben reveals himself to his fellow clone. In the next panels the Spider-(Wo)Men quickly escape through a portal save for Bruce, who’s spine is snapped by Daemos.

In the next scene, the Spider rescue team appears in Central Park of Earth-13, also known as the safe zone. Spider-Man is once again shocked by all the familiar faces, including Ben Reilly and Gwen Stacy, two people he cared about who passed away in his universe. The Spider-Man of Earth-13, otherwise known as Cosmic Spider-Man, explains that his world is a safe zone because he is a Peter Parker who retained the Enigma Force, giving him godlike powers. We learn that the only reason he cannot end the battle is that his power is tied to his dimension, and in any other universe he is just another Spider-Man.

The comic cuts to a brief scene on Earth-1610, also known as the Ultimate Universe. Miles Morales is in a cemetery, visiting his mom’s grave, lamenting on how being Spider-Man cost him his family to Jessica Drew, clone of Peter Parker-1610. The next page features the ominous silhouette of Verna, as her three hounds pounce towards the two Spiders.

The epilogue begins as we return to the Loomworld. We see the Inheritors gathered around a table, the table set with golden plates with different Spider-Men laying on each. The family argues about when to start eating, but their Father Lord Solus demands they wait for Morlun. It doesn’t take long as Morlun arrives through a doorway, Spider-Man of Earth-9105 (of an Earth where pharaohs still rule) slung over his shoulder.

Before they begin to eat, Lord Solus asks to hear of their tributes, and each Inheritor begins to describe their quarry, trying to outdo the others. Daemos and Morlun begin to fight after Daemos reveals he went to Earth-616 and fought against the Other – though their anger is quickly quenched when Solus bangs his fist on the table. He reminds them that they possess the Great Web, and we then see each of his children state what that means to them. Solus declares that with the threads in their grasp they are the Inheritors of all creation; Spider-Man-9105 cuts him off saying that though they have its power, the Spiders will defeat them and they’ll always have their responsibility. Morlun cuts him off in anger, and in the final panel of the comic, we see a great flash of light as the Inheritors begin to feast on their prey’s life force. And as always, it is to be continued.

Check out Whatever a Spider Can’s other Spider-Verse comic book recaps and reviews
Amazing Spider-Man #7 Recap and Review
Amazing Spider-Man #6 Recap and Review
Spider-Man Team up #1 Recap and Review

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